President Barack Obama gave his first formal television interview as president to an Arabic cable TV network, telling Al-Arabiya that when it comes to Middle East matters “all too often the United States starts by dictating.”
Obama taped the interview with the Dubai-based network Monday as his envoy to the Middle East, former Sen. George J. [...]

Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday that she intends to revitalize the mission of diplomacy in American foreign policy, calling for a “smart power” strategy in the Middle East and implicitly criticizing the Bush administration for having downgraded the role of arms control.
At a daylong confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, President-elect Barack Obama’s [...]